Foreign visitors make a tour of Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO heritage site in Vietnam.

Vietnam sees record number of foreign arrivals in Q1

Vietnam welcomed over 4.6 million international visitors in the first quarter of this year, up 72% year on year and up 3.2% compared to the same period from 2019 before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The impressive growth is attributed to favorable visa policies, tourism stimulus programmes, as well as the relentless efforts of both the Government and tourism businesses.

Most notably, the number of international visitors in March skyrocketed by 78.6% year on year to hit nearly 1.6 million.

Of the total, foreign visitors arriving by air accounted for 83.6%, representing a rise of 60.1%, cited VOV.

Asia remained the largest Vietnamese tourist market with more than 3.52 million arrivals, accounting for 75.8%. The Republic of Korea topped the list with more than 1.23 million visitors, followed by China with nearly 890,000 visitors.

Tourism revenue during the reviewed period was estimated at VND14.1 trillion, representing an annual rise of 46.3%.

Da Nang earned the highest tourism revenue, up 69%; followed by Ho Chi Minh City, up 59%; Can Tho, up 57.7%; Hanoi, up 47.6%; Quang Ninh, up 18.5%; and Lam Dong, up 13.3%.

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia hold joint firefighting, search, rescue exercise

Forces from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia on March 29 joined a search and rescue exercise handling a traffic accident that caused a fire in Son Tra peninsula in the central city of Da Nang.

Vietnamese Minister of Public Security General To Lam; Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Public Security of Laos General Lakhamphong Vilay; and Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior Abhisantibindit Sar Sokha witnessed the drill.

Speaking at the event, Lam said that Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia always aim to ensure safety for their people and build the three Indochinese countries of peace, stability, development, and prosperity.

Regarding fire prevention and control, and search and rescue, the three countries have shared practical cooperation, he said.

Developing and organizing exercises can bring practical results, meeting requirements in ensuring national security, social order, and safety in the three countries, according to VNA.

Fire fighter robot is used at the drill. (Photo: VNA)

The exercise is an opportunity for their firefighters and rescuers to exchange experience, learn from each other, and improve tactics, techniques, and combat capacity in handling fires, incidents, and accidents, he noted.

According to the hypothetical situation at the Da Nang exercise, an accident among a coach, chemical and gasoline tank trucks occurred in the border area. The fire prevention, fighting and rescue forces of the three countries mobilized more than 100 personnel and modern fire-fighting equipment to handle the traffic accident, chemical leaks, and petroleum tanker fire.

Rescue plans were implemented effectively such as using specialized tools to cut bus frames and rescue people trapped inside; using specialized clothing to handle leaked chemicals; and using automatic fire fighting robots.

The exercise took place successfully as planned. After the event, participating forces from the countries learned from the experience to improve their skills.

Vietnam - a great market for Canadian businesses, says Min. Mary Ng

Vietnam is a great market for Canadian businesses, said Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng at a press briefing on the outcome of her working trip to Vietnam.

She said on March 28 evening that the presence of representatives of 168 Canadian firms that accompanied her during the working trip testified to the success of the two countries’ trade relations.

These firms operate in the fields of agriculture, food processing, clean technology, green technology, information and communications, digitalization, and infrastructure. These are extremely important sectors for Canada, and they have chosen Vietnam because they believe that there are many opportunities for them here in the country, according to the minister.

Mary Ng attributed the success in bilateral cooperation to the fact that both countries are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Last year saw two-way trade turnover reach US$14 billion, of which Canadian exports fetched US$776 million, marking a significant increase in bilateral trade after the two countries joined the CPTPP.

Currently, Canada is Vietnam’s third largest trading partner in the Americas while Vietnam is Canada’s largest trading partner in ASEAN, VOV reported.

Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng at a press briefing in HCM City on March 28. (Photo: thanhnien.vn)

Vietnam’s middle class is growing, and is expected to account for 26% of the total population by 2026. This is a great market for Canadian businesses and investors to increase their presence in Vietnam, and Canada has high hopes for success in bilateral trade and investment ties, stated the minister.

Canada is currently the 14th largest investor in Vietnam with more than 247 projects capitalized at more than US$4.82 billion. During her working trip, the Vietnam Airlines Flight Training Center and CAE Inc., a Canadian firm that provides full-flight simulators, signed a partnership agreement. A Canadian firm also signed a cooperation agreement on wastewater treatment with the government of Vietnam.

Mary Ng revealed that the Export Development Canada would open an office in Ho Chi Minh City to further strengthen its presence in Vietnam.

At the press briefing, Mary Ng also highly appreciated Vietnam’s role in Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, and expected both sides would promote negotiations on the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement.

Minister Mary Ng led a delegation of 168 companies to Vietnam this week to sound out business opportunities. She had a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and attended the second meeting of the Joint Economic Committee to outline future orientations for bilateral cooperation.

Vietnam records trade surplus of 8.08 billion USD in Q1

Vietnam’s total export-import turnover hit 178.04 billion USD in the first quarter of this year, up 15.5% annually, resulting in a trade surplus of 8.08 billion USD, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO) on March 29.

Exports performed particularly well, with an estimated value of 93.06 billion USD, reflecting a 17% year-on-year growth. Processed industrial goods dominated exports, accounting for a substantial 88.1% share with a value of 82.02 billion USD.

Imports, on the other hand, reached 84.98 billion USD, representing a 13.9% increase. Production materials comprised the bulk of imports at 79.9 billion USD, or roughly 94% of the total import value.

Cat Lai port in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

The US remained Vietnam's top export market during the period, with an estimated turnover of 26.2 billion USD. Meanwhile, China held the position of the largest importer for Vietnam, with goods valued at 29.4 billion USD entering the country, cited VNA.

While the overall trade picture was positive, a closer look revealed a disparity between domestic and foreign-invested sectors. The domestic economic sector experienced a trade deficit of 4.49 billion USD while the foreign-invested sector, including crude oil, recorded a significant surplus of 12.57 billion USD.

In light of these findings, former General Director of the GSO Nguyen Bich Lam emphasized the need for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to refine existing mechanisms and policies. This would foster a more favorable macroeconomic environment for exports, promote sustainable export growth, and diversify markets to achieve a healthy and balanced trade relationship with Vietnam's partners.

Vietnam joins Macau int’l environment cooperation forum & expo

Vietnam is attending the 2024 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF), which was kicked off in the Chinese special administrative region on March 28.

The event saw the participation of over 400 exhibitors from 30 countries and territories worldwide. Vietnam is part of the lineup of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s member nations, cited VNS.

Visitors hear an introduction of a robot to collect and classify rubbish.

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency in Macau, Vu Thi Thuy, head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Hong Kong-Macau, said that it had brought to the annual event various documents and images to promote Vietnam's efforts in environmental protection as well as the development of economy, trade, and tourism.

Thuy expressed her confidence that thanks to its incentives and favorable cooperation environments, Vietnam will become an attractive destination for regional and international investors, with an increasing number of environmental friendly cooperation projects signed.

Themed “Reaching the Dual Carbon Goals through Green Transformation”, the 2024 MIECF will last until March 30.

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